Cheam man's mind bending puzzles at mental olympiad

When Mike Wellman was a teenager in Cheam he would while away idle afternoons inventing board games for his schoolmates.

Now, nearly 40 years later, his designs are reaching a wider audience at the 13th annual Mind Sports Olympiad (MSO) in London.

The best brains from around the world have been gathering to play Pacru, Azacru and Shacru, three games developed by his firm.

Pacru, the most popular, is said to blend the tactics and piece movements of chess with the territory capture skills of the ancient Asian game of go.

Mike, 53, a computer programmer, said: “My favourite games were chess and Risk when I was a teenager in Sutton in the 1970s. But I was always interested in the many other board games that have
existed for centuries, such as go and the multiple forms of draughts or checkers.

“Some games have a combination, where the drama or strategy of the gameplay is matched by the appearance of the board and pieces.

“When I had the idea for the first of these games, Pacru, I couldn’t let go of it.”

Twenty years after his initial idea, Mr Wellman suddenly hit upon the rules of the games and published them as Pacru, Azacru and Shacru.